State Joins Partnership To Monitor Competition

Attorney General Josh Kaul has joined the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in their launch of a partnership with bipartisan attorneys general from 31 additional states. The partnership was created to enhance competition and protect consumers in food and agricultural markets, including in grocery, meat and poultry processing, and other markets.

Kaul visits with Pam Jahnke about areas that triggered his interest, and how he believes the partnership will function to protect not only farmers, but consumers too.

Background on Agricultural Competition Partnership

The partnership will look at opportunities to combine state and federal authorities, expertise, and market insights. The agency is also leveraging funds to support complex cases and to jointly support research and academic work for use in future cases.

Focus areas of the Agricultural Competition Partnership include:

• Anti-competitive market structures and practices, as well as price gouging and other anti-consumer practices, in food, retail, meat and poultry processing, and other agriculture industries.
• Lack of choices for consumers and producers.
• Conflicts of interest, misuse of intellectual property, and anti-competitive barriers across the food and agriculture supply chains, such as in seed markets.

This should help the capacity of state attorneys general to conduct on-the ground assessments of competition and consumer issues, enhance coordination between federal and state agriculture and competition authorities. It’s also designed to create new and more independent research programs, and ultimately result in fairer and competitive markets and more resilient supply chains.

Other states currently involved in the partnership include Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wyoming, and the District of Columbia.